Gangs and violence
Has a member of your family been a victim of group violence?
If someone in your family is a victim of group violence, it may feel as though your whole family is now involved, which can be frightening. It might be tempting to keep quiet about what happened because you think someone else in your family will get hurt. Your parents might worry about your safety, for example, and not want you to talk to anyone about it. But that might not be the best option.
Check that your family member is not in need of medical attention. Sometimes a victim of group violence is:
- frightened to report it
- scared to ask for help
- not willing to have hospital treatment
What can you do?
If they were attacked, you should make sure they have been to hospital or seen a doctor. This is important because:
- head wounds can be very serious
- if there is no blood, it could still be very serious
- damage to the inside of the body can sometimes be life threatening; it's important they get themselves checked out just in case they have an injury that they can't see but needs treating
Report it
The next thing to do is to get them to tell someone about it. Even if they don't know who attacked them, it should still be reported. If they don't tell someone, you should do it on their behalf.
- You can contact your local police station or speak to your Safer Schools Officer or local Safer Neighbourhoods Team - if it's an emergency you should call 999.
- If you feel unable to talk to us you could contact the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111 (you won't have to give your name and your call will not be traced).
- Or for more information visit the ‘Reporting crime’ section on the Metropolitan Police website or the ‘How to contact us’ page on this site.
You might also want to read
For more information about group violence visit our ‘More help and advice’ page. Or for other related topics, take a look at our sections on bullying and knife and gun crime.
